Archive for the ‘Bill Lynn’ Category

I’ve been participating in the public discussion for more than ten years, and I have never before seen the American people go so quickly from favoring a politician, to questioning and even hating, and in such numbers, as this.

Barack Obama’s “Rant At The Spa” last night before an all Democrat partisan crown did nothing to help him pass the stimulus and gain the faith and confidence of the American people.

If our email, phone and other comment indicators are any indication, well more than 60% of the population has turned against this president since his inauguration on January 20.

Rasmussen, Gallup and other poll groups say somewhere near 50% of American voters now worry about or disapprove of the way Obama is going.

Bill Sammon, formerly of The Washington Times and now the Washington Examiner and a Fox News contributor said today after the Robert Gibbs White House news conference, “Americans are growing to resent Barack Obama for the way he has handle this stimulus.”

The stimulus has not, unfortuanately, been the president’s only black eye. His nomination of tax scofflaws and lobbyists to top positions is now a fequent theme of those sending us comments.

Polls show the American people expressing disgust and dismay. And they have less and less confidence in the president and their lawmakers.

President Obama did not let up in his use of ugly languange and efforts to get the stimulus passed in the Senate on Friday.

“These numbers demand action. It is inexcusable and irresponsible for any of us to get bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual while millions of Americans are being put out of work,” Obama said bluntly. “Now is the time for Congress to act.”

A United States president who admits a mistake is almost as rare as a Wall Street executive who refuses a bonus after losing money. When such humility strikes, it should be cheered to spur reform. But for a regretful Obama White House and a somewhat-rueful Wall Street, it’s still unclear what reforms lie ahead for each.

President Obama admitted Tuesday he made mistakes after two of his cabinet nominees, Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer, were forced to bow out because of revelations over their nonpayment of taxes. But what kind of mistakes?

Christian Science Monitor
Editorial Board

One was clear. “There aren’t two sets of rules,” he told NBC News, “one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.”

Still, how should Americans square that new-found lesson on double standards with the fact that another tax-dodging nominee, Tim Geithner, was made Treasury secretary? Or that Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State despite her husband being allowed to accept money for his foundation from foreign governments that also make deals with the top US diplomat?

And what of the White House vetting process or that two Obama nominees are former lobbyists or that the president backed Mr. Daschle to the end?

For a politician who promised a high bar of ethics and a new era of responsibility, this president still has far to go to understand why it is so easy for many in Washington to claim immunity or a sense of entitlement not available or accepted by other Americans.

When the Senate salutes one of its own, Republican Ted Stevens, despite his felony conviction, or the House leaves Democrat Charles Rangel as head of its tax-writing committee despite his avoidance of taxes, such lapses of common sense erode faith in government.

It also makes people wary of bigger government with new programs such as universal healthcare. The more power that Washington commands, the more temptation there is for exploitation by special interests and revolving-door politicians. Daschle, for instance, was slated to head up healthcare reform even though he used his Senate tenure to advise that industry and make millions.

During almost two years on the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to slay the demons of Washington, bar lobbyists from his administration and usher in what he would later call in his Inaugural Address a “new era of responsibility.” What he did not talk much about were the asterisks.

By Peter Baker
The New York Times

The exceptions that went unmentioned now include a pair of cabinet nominees who did not pay all of their taxes. Then there is the lobbyist for a military contractor who is now slated to become the No. 2 official in the Pentagon. And there are the others brought into government from the influence industry even if not formally registered as lobbyists.

President Obama said Monday that he was “absolutely” standing behind former Senator Tom Daschle, his nominee for health and human services secretary, and Mr. Daschle, who met late in the day with leading senators in an effort to keep his confirmation on track, said he had “no excuse” and wanted to “deeply apologize” for his failure to pay $128,000 in federal taxes.

But the episode has already shown how, when faced with the perennial clash between campaign rhetoric and Washington reality, Mr. Obama has proved willing to compromise.

Every four or eight years a new president arrives in town, declares his determination to cleanse a dirty process and invariably winds up trying to reconcile the clear ideals of electioneering with the muddy business of governing. Mr. Obama on his first day in office imposed perhaps the toughest ethics rules of any president in modern times, and since then he and his advisers have been trying to explain why they do not cover this case or that case.

“This is a big problem for Obama, especially because it was such a major, major promise,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “He harped on it, time after time, and he created a sense of expectation around the country. This is exactly why people are skeptical of politicians, because change we can believe in is not the same thing as business as usual.”

And so in these opening days of the administration, the Obama team finds itself being criticized by bloggers on the left and the right, mocked by television comics and questioned by reporters about whether Mr. Obama is really changing the way Washington works or just changing which political party works it.

Nothing like Bill Clinton’s early-going gays in the military effort or Hillary’s closed door try at revising the American medical system in the dawning days of Bill’s presidency….

But Barack Obama’s preaching about “bipartisanship” was not matched with actions as Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats crafted the economic stimulus package without taking into account Republican viewpoints.

Maybe if Barack had been in the Senate longer he’d know more about bipartisanship….

“We won” Republicans were told, when they objected to certain stimulus package goodies like funding to fight bird flu.

Psst: This is what transparency gets us. The right thing to do when things like this come up is to ask the guy to withdraw, not ask for an ‘exception.”

Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, has withdrawn her President Obama nomination to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government, the White House said Tuesday.

The nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense used to be a lobbyist. He’s still in the running, despite the president’s vows against lobbyists and for ethics.

On al-Arabiya TV the president made a plea to Muslims. So Iran demanded an apology for American wrongs.

Just 11% of U.S. voters think America should apologize to Iran for “crimes” against the Islamic country.

The stimulus bill written by Democrats has a “buy American provision.” China, Germany and others objected.

Canada hopes U.S. officials will exempt America’s top trading partner from “Buy American” provisions in the economic stimulus bill before Barack Obama arrives in Canada this month for his first foreign trip as president.

The stimulus, meant to create jobs, contained at least two two questionable items — $75 million for smoking cessation programs and $400 million to slow the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted disease. Both have already been dropped from the most recent draft of the measure. You can recall others like the sod for the Mall in Washington DC….

Nearly half of U.S. voters (49%) say Barack Obama is politically more liberal than they are.

The president promised to close Gitmo and pull out of Iraq. He has done neither: but has angered some militay people.

He has cut defense by 10% and started to discontinue the term “war on terror.”

The president has opened an exchange of words with radio personality Rush Limbaugh….

The number of voters saying Obama is more liberal than they thought on election day is growing…..

Tough two weeks. Even with a dedicated Democratic House and Senate the public can lose trust and confidence …..